CyranoDeBergerac
Star
- Joined
- May 27, 2020
The diner had a bit of noir in its flavor, especially twenty-two minutes past midnight on a Friday night. It was the middle of winter in Haven City which meant that, thanks to the warm air from the ocean, it was raining. Not a downpour that would keep drunk college students from stumbling in for a bite to eat after a night of drinking and carousing, but enough that customers were staying in their booths a little longer than they would have otherwise. Not that the place had been too busy when Theo slipped in at ten minutes to midnight at sat himself in a booth in the back where he could keep the door in front of him. For the twenty minutes or so that he had been sitting by himself, nursing a cup or two of coffee, he had silent, listening to the music that was playing over the overhead radio.
It was not that he was expecting trouble, exactly, simply that he had grown into the habit of always expecting trouble.
He knew he stood out, in this small diner a few blocks from Greek Row that mostly catered to college kids. A lightskin man, a little older than college age, with his hair pulled back into a tail and wearing an Armani suit that could buy that barely legal looking waitress for a month was not exactly in the diner's typical clientele. Red eyes, a slur, boat shows, khaki's and a polo seemed more the typical style, though fortunately anyone that fratty was still drinking themselves to an early grave and a sexual harassment accusation at their houses on Greek Row.
As much as Theo did not fit this diner, the diner also did not fit him. It was out of his way, being in the space that connected Downtown with the University and the better parts of Pinesend; normally he would stick to Downtown or his home area of Venice, except for the occasional errands he needed to run to the rougher parts of town when he needed to send a mesage from the Di Capri Family to a particular gang or endeavor. Theo was what was known as a messaggero ,or messenger, when the Boss or Underboss wanted to send a message to another criminal organization they wouldn't go themselves unless it was truly important. Instead they would send a messaggero . It was one of the many ways that modern crime families needed to work in order to avoid catching charges from the nigh constant federal and state investigations they were flaunting.
The Di Capri's had recently concluded a peace with their rivals, the Hong Triad, and part of that peace had included setting up a club on 13th Street called Amity as a front for both criminal enterprise's operations and as a neutral location for all parties. Melanie Di Capri had been given the greenlight to manage it, but as much as Theo loved his cousin she could be exhausting under the right conditions. The intention had been to go down to Amity, show the flag a little bit, have a drink and relax. Instead, Theo had ended up needing to step in and personally divy out who got what percentage of the revenue from the Christmas season before Jax and Sonny killed each other. Theo had learned to respect Jax as a leader, but the guy could be a little hot headed to say the least.
Which all explained why Theo had needed to seek refuge in this currently quiet diner with the jailbait looking waitress who seemed to have perfected the art of swinging her hips to attract attention and higher tips and the passable coffee. There had been a newspaper left on the seat of the booth when he came in and Theo had spent more time reading it than the menu; the front page story was about the shooting of a young black man in Pinesend by a white cop on Boxing Day. Apparently, Rashawn Wallis was a known gang banger with a warrant for his arrest. The cop, who remained unnamed, apparently came upon Rashawn when he was walking home from the corner store carrying groceries for his mother. When Rashawn failed to comply promptly to the order to drop his mother's groceries on the ground, the officer had shot him down with buckshot on the side walk in front of his mother's house.
Finishing the last drops of his cup of coffee he moved it towards the end of the table and finally set the newspaper down. When the waitress came over to fill up the pot he gave her a friendly, but hopefully not too friendly, smile and said to her, " Okay, since I can't make up my mind, why don't you pick out an appetizer for me, and then you just tell me when to stop putting zeros on the receipt." He said, partially joking, but also knowing his indecisiveness must have been annoying to the waitress who was paid primarily in tips.
It was not that he was expecting trouble, exactly, simply that he had grown into the habit of always expecting trouble.
He knew he stood out, in this small diner a few blocks from Greek Row that mostly catered to college kids. A lightskin man, a little older than college age, with his hair pulled back into a tail and wearing an Armani suit that could buy that barely legal looking waitress for a month was not exactly in the diner's typical clientele. Red eyes, a slur, boat shows, khaki's and a polo seemed more the typical style, though fortunately anyone that fratty was still drinking themselves to an early grave and a sexual harassment accusation at their houses on Greek Row.
As much as Theo did not fit this diner, the diner also did not fit him. It was out of his way, being in the space that connected Downtown with the University and the better parts of Pinesend; normally he would stick to Downtown or his home area of Venice, except for the occasional errands he needed to run to the rougher parts of town when he needed to send a mesage from the Di Capri Family to a particular gang or endeavor. Theo was what was known as a messaggero ,or messenger, when the Boss or Underboss wanted to send a message to another criminal organization they wouldn't go themselves unless it was truly important. Instead they would send a messaggero . It was one of the many ways that modern crime families needed to work in order to avoid catching charges from the nigh constant federal and state investigations they were flaunting.
The Di Capri's had recently concluded a peace with their rivals, the Hong Triad, and part of that peace had included setting up a club on 13th Street called Amity as a front for both criminal enterprise's operations and as a neutral location for all parties. Melanie Di Capri had been given the greenlight to manage it, but as much as Theo loved his cousin she could be exhausting under the right conditions. The intention had been to go down to Amity, show the flag a little bit, have a drink and relax. Instead, Theo had ended up needing to step in and personally divy out who got what percentage of the revenue from the Christmas season before Jax and Sonny killed each other. Theo had learned to respect Jax as a leader, but the guy could be a little hot headed to say the least.
Which all explained why Theo had needed to seek refuge in this currently quiet diner with the jailbait looking waitress who seemed to have perfected the art of swinging her hips to attract attention and higher tips and the passable coffee. There had been a newspaper left on the seat of the booth when he came in and Theo had spent more time reading it than the menu; the front page story was about the shooting of a young black man in Pinesend by a white cop on Boxing Day. Apparently, Rashawn Wallis was a known gang banger with a warrant for his arrest. The cop, who remained unnamed, apparently came upon Rashawn when he was walking home from the corner store carrying groceries for his mother. When Rashawn failed to comply promptly to the order to drop his mother's groceries on the ground, the officer had shot him down with buckshot on the side walk in front of his mother's house.
Finishing the last drops of his cup of coffee he moved it towards the end of the table and finally set the newspaper down. When the waitress came over to fill up the pot he gave her a friendly, but hopefully not too friendly, smile and said to her, " Okay, since I can't make up my mind, why don't you pick out an appetizer for me, and then you just tell me when to stop putting zeros on the receipt." He said, partially joking, but also knowing his indecisiveness must have been annoying to the waitress who was paid primarily in tips.